With the rapid development of computer hard- and software, and due to the prevalence of the Internet, many people have come to rely upon the Internet to do a lot of things in their daily lives, such as sending/receiving e-mails, communicating with one another, transferring files, and executing specific application programs (e.g., to watch Internet TV or view images taken by a surveillance camera). Therefore, the quality (e.g., data transfer rate and signal stability) of network services has gradually been viewed as an important indicator of the amenity of a place.
Generally, one who wishes to surf the Internet with a terminal device (e.g., a laptop computer, tablet computer, or smart phone) must begin by connecting the terminal device to a network apparatus (e.g., a router) either with a cable (e.g., an Ethernet cable) or wirelessly (e.g., through Wi-Fi signals). Then, the terminal device is connected to the Internet by the network connection function of the network apparatus. However, both Ethernet cables and Wi-Fi signals have their limitations in application. If the user is too far away from the network apparatus, it is physically impossible to connect the terminal device to the Internet, or a slow and jerky web browsing experience may result from weak network signals. To enable Internet connection from anywhere within a local area (e.g., an entire floor of an apartment or an entire café), extenders are required to extend network coverage. Two common types of extenders are bridges and brouters.
Application of extenders includes two major stages: hardware installation and software configuration. Take wireless bridges for example. A first bridge is connected to a network apparatus (i.e., a router) by an Ethernet cable, and a second bridge is positioned within the wireless transmission range of the first bridge (e.g., with the network apparatus located on the first floor, and the second bridge on the second floor) to complete hardware installation. Afterward, software configuration is carried out by setting the two bridges manually and separately according to a profile in the network apparatus. Only then can a terminal device be connected to the Internet through the bridges and roam seamlessly in the wireless transmission range of the two bridges. As the manual setting steps are complicated and require a basic understanding of network technologies, one who uses extenders for the first time or is required to perform software configuration in an unfamiliar network environment (e.g., in a foreign country) will have to spend a lot of time and energy in order to set up the extenders correctly. The onerous process not only compromises the convenience of extenders, but also presents a huge problem when it comes to commercial promotion of related products.
Besides, given the rising awareness of network security, it is not uncommon that a user changes the profile (e.g., password) of a network apparatus proactively to prevent theft of personal data, and each time the profile is changed, the settings of all the extenders connected to the network apparatus must also be changed, one extender after another, to ensure synchronized and seamless connection between the network apparatus and the extenders. However, the foregoing process is so complex that, should any data be wrongly set, the user has to check the network apparatus and each one of the extenders in order to fix the wrong setting, which is extremely inconvenient. Therefore, the issue to be addressed by the present invention is to design a network synchronization system in which extenders, such as bridges, can automatically capture the necessary profile upon completion of hardware installation and make successful network connection, thereby increasing convenience of use and enabling intuitive operation.